Day 8: Paralympic Winter Games preview

The penultimate day of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games will see the champions crowned in Wheelchair Curling whilst the bronze medal will be decided in Para Ice Hockey on Saturday (12 March).

On the snow, the women will return for the slalom in Para Alpine Skiing and the Para Cross-Country is set to wow with the middle distance.

Wheelchair Curling 

Defending champions China are unbeaten in nine games heading into Saturday's final, including their semi-final victory over Canada who settled for bronze.

Whilst the Chinese may have the pressure of home ice and retaining their title, their opponents Sweden head into the game with nothing to lose.

The Swedes are going for the first medal since Vancouver 2010 when they won bronze, their best ever finish that followed on from the same result at Wheelchair Curling's Paralympic debut at Torino 2006. Since then the side have struggled to break into the top three, reaching seventh and 10th place at the last two editions. 

However their place in the final is no surprise given their renaissance from the last couple of years. They reached the podium at both the 2020 and 2021 World Championships.

China meanwhile have finished in the top three at five of the last eight Worlds, including gold in 2021.

Para Ice Hockey

China will have another shot on the podium in the Para Ice Hockey, an incredible feat for the team who only made it into the top flight last year and who are making their Paralympic debut.

China have enjoyed a whirlwind few seasons in the lead-up to Beijing 2022. Promoted from the C-Pool in 2018 and the B-Pool to the A-Pool just last year, Fengshen Yi was named Best Forward on both occasions.

Yi has continued his run of form into the Paralympics with six goals and four assists and is second only to the USA's Declan Farmer in the top scorer standings.

South Korea are the underdogs heading into the bronze medal match having only won one game. But Hyuk Jun Choi is amongst the top five goaltenders having reached a 82.61 per cent save average.

Para Alpine Skiing

As in the giant slalom, the men’s and women’s slalom will be split over two days. The women get us underway on Saturday as a series of athletes aim to make their medal hauls bigger. 

Japanese Momoka Muraoka seeks to claim her fourth Winter Paralympic gold medal on Chinese soil in the sitting category as she faces stiff competition from Germany's Paralympic champion Ana-Lena Forster.

The Aigner sisters Veronika and Barbara are hoping to reach the podium again in the vision impaired, although Slovakia's multiple-Paralympic champion Henrieta Farkasova will be ready to add another gold medal to her haul.

Expect China's Zhang Mengqiu, France's Marie Bochet and Sweden's Ebba Aarsjoe to fight for the top position in the women's standing.

Para cross-country skiing

The last of the individual medals will be on offer on Saturday in the middle distance races. 

Canada's Brian McKeever will try to equal Gerd Schoenfelder's record as the most decorated male Winter Paralympian as he goes for his 16th career gold medal. McKeever and guide Graham Kennedy have already won the sprint and long distance in Beijing in the men's vision impaired, and the Canadian pairing head out as the defending champions.

Teammate Natalie Wilkie is also the new champion in both the sprint and long distance going for a trio of titles in the women's standing.

Chinese skiers have muscled in on the action this week, ushering in a new generation of Paralympic champions. These include Yang Hongqiong and Zheng Peng who are both unbeaten in the women's and men's sitting, respectively, so far. 

Ukraine's Oksana Shyshkova has secured medals across Para Cross-Country and Para Biathlon in the women's vision impaired with guide Andriy Marchenko, including the long distance. But in the sprint Shyshkova had to yield to Austria's Carina Edlinger, guided by Lorenz Josef Lampl.

In the men's standing France's Benjamin Daviet is another athlete to enjoy success in two sports at Beijing 2022. Daviet won his first individual Paralympic title in the men's sprint standing this week whilst Japan's Taiki Kawayoke reached the same feat for Japan in the long distance.